The invention relates generally to marine propulsion devices and, more particularly, to marine propulsion devices adapted for propelling sailboats which are commonly steered by a rubber located either under the hull or behind the transom.
In the past, outboard motors have sometimes been mounted on the transom of a sailboat, but, in general, such mounting has been relatively inaccessible, and consequently, the steering capability of the outboard motor was seldom used and the propeller was often undesirably trailed in the water when the boat was under sail. In addition, in instances when the rudder was mounted on the transom, the outboard motor had to be mounted to one side in an inefficient location.
Attention is directed to the following U.S. Patents:
______________________________________ Jeanson 4,143,614 issued March 13, 1979 Krautkremer 3,683,841 " August 15, 1972 Adams 3,809,343 " May 7, 1974 Moberg 3,581,702 " June 1, 1971 Roberts 4,004,705 " August 30, 1977 Wagner 3,096,959 " July 9, 1963 Forbes 2,908,242 " October 13, 1959 Briggs 2,178,555 " November 7, 1939 Corcoran 1,800,135 " April 7, 1931 ______________________________________